Household appliances, such as a tumble drier, a washing machine, a dishwasher or the like, possess a door, a lid, a hinged opening or the like to allow loading and/or unloading. The door, the lid, the hinged opening or the like, hereinafter also referred to as the closing element, are provided with a lock.
A lock of this type has a retaining element, configured, for example, in the style of a slider, for interaction with a locking bar located on the closing element of the household appliance. The lock further possesses a two-state locking mechanism for the retaining element, such that the locking mechanism in a first state blocks the movement of the retaining element and in a second state frees the movement of the retaining element.
Such a lock is known from DE 199 61 083 A1, in which the locking mechanism is mechanically controlled between the two states with a pawl drive. This mechanical control system is disadvantageously complex and prone to faults.